Damn the Dark
by qasoline
Summary: After Mary-Lynnette wakes up one night hysterical, Ash begins to notice little quirks about her. he grows more worried as she grows more paranoid. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

Damn the Dark

Mary-Lynnette woke up in a cold sweat, gasping and clutching at anything within her reach. But she couldn't breathe, despite her best efforts. The air was too thick, the blanket too hot. In fact, everything was too hot. She couldn't scream for help, she was hyperventilating. _My God._

And then Ash was grabbing her, shaking her over and over again.

"Mare! Are you alright? Talk to me, please!" he shouted at her. She still couldn't find the breath to conjure up a response, hard as she tried.

Instead she chocked and wildly latched onto him, groping at his bare skin. He held her back as she sobbed on and on, murmuring useless words of comfort in her ear. He sounded calm, but she knew him well enough now to recognize the worry and grief over her suffering that he suppressed for her everyday.

He extended his arm carefully, so as not to disturb her, to turn on the light on the beside table, but Mary-Lynnette's pain stricken voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't you _dare!_" she hissed.

Ash turned back towards her, shocked. Her eyes were reduced to slits and her breath was unsteady.

"Mary-Lynnette. What's wrong?" he stroked her arm soothingly and tried to decipher her thoughts through her eyes by looking deeply into them.

She stared intently back at him, not breaking eye-contact. Fear glittered in the deep blue speckles of her eyes and she slowly came to her senses.

"I don't know," She hesitated. "Just don't turn the light on, all right?"

She turned away from him, pulling the ivory comforter over her head as her breathing slowed.

Ash sat quietly beside her, wondering exactly what had happened just then. He would ask Mary-Lynnette in the morning, when she was more rational and her thoughts weren't clouded with sleep. She was just overtired, that was it.

In the morning everything would be okay…

**(A/N) So, I don't really know where I'm going with this. But you know what I like? Reviews. Especially reviews that might give me ideas about the story? I would REALLY love that. I have some ideas, and I will try to update ASAP. Reviews give me motivation, you know.**


	2. Chapter 2

Damn the Dark

Ash woke up much more peacefully than Mary-Lynnette had. Inevitably, he was tired, but it was bearable. Remembering her, he reached out his hand to wake her still form. But he found no purchase and squashed the light blanket flat against the mattress. He blinked twice and yawned, not trying to stifle it.

Flipping the blanket off of his half-naked body, he stood up, eyes roaming the room and not picking up on Mary-Lynnette. _Who gets up this early?_

Walking groggily to the window, he thought he heard the little patter of footsteps, but he continued to pull the heavy, velvety curtains aside, letting warm morning sunshine stream through the glass. Confirming his earlier suspicions, his walk-in closet door slammed shut, making objects around the room quiver. Hesitantly, he approached the door. Opening it, he came upon his closet in absolute ruins. There in the dead center of the mess stood Mary-Lynnette, her face pale and drawn. His eyes widened and he looked down at her raised wrists which seemed to be wet and… red?

Then came the realization.

"Mary-Lynnette! What did you do to yourself? What did you do! My God! Mare! Why would you hurt yourself!" He shrieked, grabbing her bleeding wrists roughly towards him, tears streaming freely in a torrent down his face. He looked her straight in her usually snapping, deep blue eyes that now looked dead and blank.

"Why would you do this?" His normally clear voice shook and broke on the last word. He was seriously unstable.

Something like dawning recognition flashed in those eyes, and she finally seemed to come to. She shook her head, her haystack of hair flying, and walked out of the room, all the while not paying an ounce of attention to her still bleeding wrists.

Ash backed against one of the closet walls, pressing against tattered clothes. He sniffed and slid to the carpet, head in his hands. What was going on?

He tried to summon up any reason someone might want to cut themselves. For one, they could be depressed, which would lead to other symptoms later on. But Mary-Lynnette couldn't be depressed, could she? She was always so bright, full of mirth. He didn't know of any outside activities, possibly causing her awful behavior. He would not hear of her going anywhere alone, what with the coming onslaught that was the apocalypse. He was with her every waking moment.

Being around such an aura, he knew _he _could never be depressed. She was an extremely moving presence. She was absolutely wonderful. Completed him. He never felt empty, felt pain no longer. There could be no pain stronger or more agonizing than the loss of a soulmate. Therefore, any other pain dulled in comparison.

But he also heard that some people cause themselves pain to relieve other pains. But that didn't apply to Mare either. _What the hell is going on?_

**(A/N) So, review! I think that I am finally getting the plot line down in my head and I'm excited to finish. But, without reviews, there is no motive. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

Damn the Dark

Ash sucked in a deep breath and knocked loudly on Thierry's heavy mahogany wood door. Well, that was a bit ironic.

He'd waited much too long for this meeting; he'd been ignoring the problem. Because ignorance was bliss, wasn't it? Not when it came to Mary-Lynnette. She was far too precious, a fine jewel. But she had been damaged. Her aura was tainted, shrunken to almost nothing. He feared if he neglected her any longer, her current anxiety about who-knows-what would drive her out of her mind.

He had tried to help her himself for the first month or so, but had been changed and stretched so thin with stress that he felt only through proxy. He felt every measly inch of his beloved's pain.

So you could imagine his relief when Thierry said he might have a solution to Ash's problem.

In an earlier discussion, Thierry informed Ash and made sure he understood that this may be something far beyond their control. She may remain impassive, as was her current state.

At that, Ash persisted with _his_ argument. If Thierry was really as rich as he was told up to be, then they could send her to the most advanced medical treatment center money could afford.

After a long, agonizing pause, he continued. "Even if it means I won't ever see her again. I only want her well."

His lord had then complied, after a long examination of Ash's face, which lately had been masquerading around in an expression of false contentment. Inside he was scalding. His heart burned, an eternal flame, causing him pain that couldn't possibly be described with words.

Now it had been extinguished, because what Thierry said next caused all of hid feelings and thoughts to shift.

"I think we may know what is wrong with Mary-Lynnette."

That one sentence changed his perspective all together.

After a week of waiting for any results, Ash had lost hope in Thierry's part in all this. But now he had redeemed himself, proved his worthiness and fierce loyalty.

"There is a similar case in a young girl in one of my safe houses. She's human, as well. Blaise, a witch, noticed her behavior was changing drastically in the course of only a few weeks. Some of the signs included cutting, irrational screaming, fear of silence and light, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, loss of interest in daily activities, appetite or weight changes, sleep changes, loss of energy, concentration problems, and self-loathing." He looked deliberately at Ah, ticking each symptom off on one of his fingers.

Now Ash was more worried than before. His "heartburn" had returned and was far more severe then he could've imagined. For all of these applied to Mary-Lynnette. She wouldn't sleep, wouldn't eat – in fact, she had lost more weight than was healthy for her. That was what had scared him the most.

As he was lost in thought, Thierry interrupted him.

"I'll update you on anything we find. Not much to do anymore, anyway." He smiled meekly.

That's right, Ash thought, getting up. Now that the apocalypse was dead and gone, Thierry could relax; enjoy the time he had to spend with his other half- unlike Ash.

This seemed to annoy him the most. The fact that the lovers had overcome so much, only to be forced down again, rather pissed him off. It was as if fate was out to get them both.

He supposed he deserved whatever was coming to him, but Mary-Lynnette sure as hell didn't. She was just about as harmless as you could get.

He had never believed he deserved Mare in the first place, but who was he to question what the Goddess conjured up for him? He was unbelievably glad he had her. She disciplined him, kept him sane and happy. She wasn't doing such a great job at the moment.

He briskly opened the door to his and Mary-Lynnette's room to find his soulmate sitting on the bed, staring blankly at her pale hands. There were dark circles around her gloomy eyes, and her glossy hair was pulled back into a messy bun, with several wavy locks framing her face.

He sighed and sat beside her, pulling her into his lap and gently cradled her face. As he rocked her back and forth quietly, she rested her head against his chest, crying. He also let a tear drop from his ever-changing eyes. He kissed her desperately on the top of the head again and again, trying to remain calm and failing.

"Oh, Mary-Lynnette."

**(A/N) I made this one a lot longer than the first chapters, so I hope that you are satisfied. I could probably update faster, though. I'll try, I'm still only human, you know. I'm trying to fill the gap between learning of Mary-Lynnette's sickness and curing it, so I'm sorry if this chapter is boring. I just write and write until my hand hurts. Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

Damn the Dark

Ash shook his blonde hair out of his face as he packed up his and Mary-Lynnette's things into a large suitcase. She, of course, wasn't helping; she wouldn't even talk to him anymore. He'd grown tired of it and felt ready and willing to break at any moment.

As he zipped up the suitcase, Mary-Lynnette moved from her spot on the floor to the couch on the opposite side of the room.

She coughed. "Where are we going?" She asked, head tilted curiously to the side, hair spilling over her shoulder.

Ash turned, in shock. He walked cautiously over to her and squatted, grabbing her hands.

"Are you speaking to me again, love?" He rubbed circles on the back of her sickly pale hand with his thumb.

She didn't even shrug. "You didn't answer my question."

"To another one of Thierry's safe houses. It's in Anamosa, Iowa, and it's quite a drive I'm afraid." He shook her hands a bit and tried wearily to smile.

She didn't react at all, but it was about as much as he expected. She hardly felt anything anymore. He could feel her through the silver cord. He couldn't even say he felt her pain because she was, in essence, numb. He would never wish sorrow upon her, never. But he just wanted her to feel something.

"I don't want to go." She said simply.

He stood up and sighed; it could have been so _easy._ But again, he didn't expect much from her.

"Well, you have to. I'm sorry."

He watched her as she stood and made a quick dash for the bathroom, which had a lock. It wouldn't stop him, the lock, but it was a bit tiring having to chase her around. He scooped her around the waist, still sighing, and flipped her over his shoulder like a potato sack. She had the personality of a potato sack, after all, why not play the entire part?

He grabbed his suitcase and fumbled down the stairs, grimacing at his untied shoelaces. He dumped Mary-Lynnette in the car and said, "Don't move an inch." Then he went around the back of the Cadillac and dumped his bag inside.

When Ash turned back, Mare was trying to get back to the house. He tried, once again, to shove her into the passenger seat.

"Mare, go-!"

"I will not get in the car."

"Fine. Then I apologize for what I'm about to do." At that, he knocked her unconscious with his mind.

He finally sat back in the car and started the engine. The first few miles were easy, until he realized he had about 20 more hours to go. He was lucky Mary-Lynnette was still… resting. Oh well, he thought, she needed the sleep anyway.

About 15 hours later, she woke up. She wiped her eyes groggily and looked at him.

"Why did you put me to sleep?"

He gave her a look, but answered anyway.

"You wouldn't get into the car, remember?"

"I did not want to get into the car."

He sighed. "I know, but you have to learn to deal with things, Mary-Lynnette! I have!"

A growl rumbled deep in his chest and he bared his teeth. Then he stopped abruptly, as if realizing for the first time what he was doing. He hadn't meant to snap at her, even if she didn't react. He couldn't _let_ himself crack under pressure, and that was why he was going to see Blaise in Iowa. He wanted to fix the problem that was Mary-Lynnette; it was causing them both too much stress and it wasn't healthy. He would make it right, and if it meant severing the connection between them, so be it. He loved her _far_ too much to let this go on any longer.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you," he said looking in her eyes for emphasis. "Only a few more minutes and we'll be there."

When they arrived, Mary-Lynnette still hadn't moved, not even to get more comfortable.

He pulled her out of the car and she, surprisingly, walked beside him on her own. As they walked, they came across a door with a black flower painted clumsily on it. He rushed his way inside, with only a few guards stopping him and Mare along the way. He stopped in the middle of his urgency when he saw _very_ curvy hips and dark hair cascading down past them. He grabbed his cousin's shoulder, causing her to brush him off and turn around angrily.

"Look, I told you Henry, get your filthy werewolf paws- Ash." Blaise Harman leaned her weight to the side, and her hips jutted out even more. She tilted her head upwards, giving him a one-over and a perfect view of her smoky eyes. There was no look of surprise on her face; it was harder to deter Blaise than most. And that was only going to make this harder for him.

"Well, don't you look God awful?" She commented critically, with wide eyes. "You need more sleep." She traced the circles under his eyes lightly with her gel-tipped nails.

He swatted her away "I'm aware. We need to talk, Blaise."

She walked away, with no doubt he would follow closely behind; he did. He had a grip on Mary-Lynnette's hand and they both sat down when Blaise did.

Finally she said, "What ever about?" She seemed to notice Ash's soulmate for the first time. "Mary-Lynnette, lovely as… well, nice to see you again." She gave a small chuckle and crossed her tan legs that were not covered as much as they should be. "No offense intended, but you two look like hell boiled over. Ha ha."

"Yes, no offense, of course. About that talk…" Ash tried once again to get to the point.

"Ash… honey. I know all about it. Thierry called me. Indirectly, of course, I'm not important enough for him I guess. I shouldn't even be here. I hate it, really. It's not my natural habitat, you know? I can't get _any _boys. Everyone has soulmates! If I wasn't sure that we would win, I wouldn't even have considered the daybreakers."

"Blaise! You noticed Mary-Lynnette's behavior? She's been shy, I know, but never this shy before. You know what's going on, Thierry informed you. C'mon, you've got to help me!" his voice held desperation close.

"Don't get so worked up," She said, irritated now. "I'll get the other girl."

She walked out, and then returned, just as quickly. She dragged a young girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, behind her. "This is Farah. She has the same problem as your girlfriend. Don't listen to what she says. She's crazy." She made a swirling motion with her hand next to her temple.

Upon the sight of Farah, Mary-Lynnette stood up, grinning brightly for the first time in months. Ash drew in a hard breath and smiled as well. It was unbelievably wonderful to see her even remotely happy anymore.

Farah returned the smile with the same amount of enthusiasm and they both walked hand in hand out of the room together. Ash made a move to follow them, but Blaise held out her arm in protest.

"Leave them be. Their happy, and besides, what can they do? There's security practically _crawling _around this place. A bit overdone, if you ask me." She flipped her waves over her shoulder.

Ash shook it off.

"Blaise, you have to help me. I have no idea what's going on with her, and I'm scared to death. You seem to know what's going on and I feel like I've lost control of the entire situation. You know as well as anyone how much I hate not being in control." He panted when he stopped and Blaise broke in.

"Oh, you poor, innocent thing. You think you're the only one who's got it bad? I'm so _tired _of my image. The bitch witch, the slut, the disgrace, I've had enough of it!"

She took a deep breath and recollected herself. "Anyway, I don't know anything."

Her ignorance only made Ash angrier. If that was possible.

"For God's sake, Blaise! This isn't about your pride! When have you ever cared about what people thought of you? Why does it bother you so much _now_?"

She stared at him for a moment, her dark lashes framing her sorrow.

"It gets to me because the one person who could've meant the world to me looks down on me."

"Wait, what? You mean your soulmate? He called you a slut?"

She took another shaky breath, eyes closed.

"Yes, no. Maybe. He could be my soulmate, I don't know. It was Philip North and I saw him during my visit to the mansion. Farah was with me, working as an assistant witch. I spotted him and we talked a bit until he realized who I was. I guess he thought I might try to mess with him, not that he was wrong, and he… he called me…" She drifted off and stared into space. Ash panicked a moment when he realized her eyes were wet and clouded over.

"Blaise, I'm so-"

"But hen I did something horrible," She sniffed. "I wanted him to love me so desperately that I tried something. More extreme then I knew I was capable of, and… and…" She let out a sob.

Ash's eyes widened and he reached out for her, urging her to continue. He thought he was onto something.

"I cast a love spell, far too powerful for me, forbidden even to the mother. I'm sure Gran would've had trouble. And, it just… bounced off of him because he was a witch. I didn't know that of course, and negative energy from the spell hit Farah. It also hit Mary-Lynnette. Because he was so unwilling, I guess, depression and other emotions, and screwed them both. Ash, I'm so sorry." She hid her face in her hands and choked out a raspy sob.

Ash shook his head and bit his tight lips so hard to keep from hitting her.

"You… you..." He couldn't spit out the words.

This seemed to give her courage. She stood up.

"I'll make things right, though. You'll see! I'll get a reverse spell and fix this. And then I'll get Phil to see the better side of me. I'm not going to be held down by my past anymore!"

Ash may have been proud of her little speech, if it weren't for her ruining his life. So, instead of applauding her, he went looking for Mary-Lynnette, storming down the halls. When he found her, he caught a bit of her conversation with Farah.

"I feel safe in the dark. It is the only place I know myself." She sat, crossed legged on the ground and Farah stared intently at her, nodding.

"Exactly. There is no where to hide in the light. Inspiration, secrets, everything stems from fear, hurt, darkness. Happiness is ignorance. Bliss is futile."

Then they interlocked hands and murmured something inaudible and unintelligible. Then they drew fingernails across their wrists, blood bubbling up.

This is when Ash intervened, pulling Mary-Lynnette into the hall, hugging her close.

"We are going to fix this. We are going to fix you, I swear."

She added dryly, "I apologize because this is causing you pain, but I feel none."

"This is _not_ your fault, baby. I love you so much…"

Blaise walked in then and repeated her vow to fix the girls.

"Yeah, Blaise?" He said, still clutching Mary-Lynnette to his chest. "What if you can't?"

"Then I fear they may resort to… suicide. That is, if the cutting doesn't kill them first." She gained some of her sass back.

But Ash didn't appreciate this Blaise. He numbed her mind, and threw her off into the wall. When a guard approached he said, "You can take her to the dumpster for all I care."

**A/N) Well, it's been a while since I updated and I'm sorry about that. But I've been busy; I went to my first Paramore concert! It was so much fun and I cried tears of pure happiness. But sorry, you don't want to know about that. Anyway, I know some people have been confused as to what's going on, but I'll try to clear it up in this chapter. I did some research on witchcraft, and I think this should make sense. I made it a bit longer than my usual… length. Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. Review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N) Again, I'm sorry for taking so long to update. I feel… terrible and out of practice. But here it is. Finally continuing. I'll be working on The Heart I Once Had next, so look out for that. :)**

Damn the Dark

Ash watched in mute horror as Mary-Lynnette was tied down. Blaise had chained her not-so-gently to a chair, surrounding her with lit candles, incense, some carnelians, and a few unnamed liquids. The young witch held in her hands a book with too many words that bared no meaning to him. The whole thing reminded him too much of an exorcism.

Mary-Lynnette sat there, her body calm, but her eyes panicked. He had a feeling that she knew all too well what was happening. With all his heart, he prayed it wouldn't be too much of a painful experience for her. That's why he just about tackled Blaise when she pulled out her knife.

"Just _what _do you think you're doing?" He growled in her face.

Blaise glared back with just as much passion.

"Don't get on my nerves, Redfern. I'm already pissed off at you for throwing me into the wall. _The Wall!_" She huffed. "I need her blood." She said it like it was so natural. With her breath, she blew a loose strand of hair out of her face and went on to slice Mary-Lynnette's palms.

That conversation had been far too rehearsed, like she had expected him to act the way he did. He didn't like that, no more than he liked the feeble whimpering sounds his soulmate was making. It took quite a bit of strength not to call off the whole charade.

When Blaise had collected what she thought was enough blood, she picked up her book again.

"Ash," she said. "Stand in the doorway. I don't care how much she screams, if you interrupt me and break the circle, I swear to god…" she shook her head, not needing to say more.

"_May I be given the power of the words of Hectate. It is not I who utter them; it is not I that repeats them…"_

She said some other nonsense too, but with an authority that rang steadily through the room and made him cringe. Mary-Lynnette didn't seem to like it too much either. She was writhing dangerously, until Blaise touched her with some red powder that made her gasp for breath. It wasn't fun to watch, and Ash feared his knees were growing weak.

Blaise darted back and forth, all around the poor girl, sprinkling all kinds of things that seemed to burn her as they touched her skin.

Ash knew Mary-Lynnette was not in her best condition, but never realized how bad it was until Blaise pulled out the stone.

It was simple, round, and smooth, with a creamy pale color. The way it reflected light was quite beautiful, he noticed.

This beauty went unnoticed by the girl in the chair. When it came near her face, she screamed bloody murder, flinging herself far up in Blaise's face. She spit in her sorry eye. Blaise cried out, dropping the stone clumsily. This would've been her route of escape, if she hadn't been tied to a chair. Ash could swear the girl growled.

Blaise recollected herself soon enough and thrust it further in Mary-Lynnette's face. Squirming still, she saw that Blaise was never going to show any mercy. So, the little freaking genius called out for Ash.

"Ash! You have to help me, please! I thought you loved me, you bastard! Stop her, it hurts…" A dry sob.

This time, his knees gave out completely. He sank miserably to the ground, in agony because he couldn't help her. When tears threatened to fall, he fought them, struggling with the need to get to her.

"Ash…" Blaise warned, not turning towards him.

"I know." He choked out in a hoarse whisper.

It was an awful, awful whisper. All his pain that couldn't be drowned fell behind it. He wished they could trade places, he wished it so bad.

He only looked up from his hands again when Mary-Lynnette's screams ceased. Blaise was bandaging her hands where they had been cut, and wetting them with something.

Mary-Lynnette gave Ash a look of terrible betrayal, as her innocent tears fell. All along, it had never been her fault; it shouldn't have had anything to do with her. And yet, it was affecting her the most.

"I'm sorry, so sorry…" He kept repeating himself, touching her hair. He felt something wet fall past his eyes.

"It's done." Blaise said quietly and left the room, with none of her usual swing.

Ash stepped away to look at his soulmate.

Her arms were outstretched for him when she fell into black.


End file.
